A filler pipe or hose connected to a fuel tank disposed below a vehicle floor for guiding a fuel to the fuel tank is known as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Post-Exam Publication No. SHO-60-12746. The disclosed filler hose 102, as shown here in FIG. 5, has a lower portion 103 inserted in and connected to a fuel tank 101. A fueling port 104 is connected to an upper end of the filler hose 102 and mounted on a left side 106 of a vehicle body near a left rear wheel house 105. The filler hose 102 is arranged such that the lower portion 103 and an intermediate portion 107 extending upward from the lower portion 103 toward the fueling port 104 are disposed forwardly of a rear axle 108.
With this arrangement, when an impact force is applied to a rear end of the vehicle body in a forward direction, the rear axle 107 acts as a guard to protect the lower and intermediate filler hose portions 103 and 107 against damage or deformation which may otherwise occur due to the effect of the impact force. The disclosed filler pipe arranging structure has a drawback, however, that since the filler hose 102 is not fixed except at both ends thereof, an intermediate portion 107 of the hose may be damaged due to repeated striking engagement with neighboring vehicle parts or components occurring when the vehicle is traveling on a bumpy road or making sharp turns.
Some known vehicle body frame has an impact-absorbing portion at a rear end thereof. When subjected to a severe impact, the impact-absorbing rear end portion undergoes deformation or buckling to thereby absorb the impact force. When used with such vehicle body frame, a filler hose or pipe may be attached to the vehicle body frame at a position close to the deformable impact-absorbing rear end portion of the vehicle body frame. With this arrangement, when the vehicle body frame is subjected to a collision at a rear end thereof, the filler hose may undesirably deform due to the effect of an impact force applied thereto during deformation or buckling of the impact-absorbing portion of the vehicle body frame.